A 1,000-Peso Haul At San San: Exploring an underrated Pinoy brand for the first time
Are you working with a budget or are you in it for the thrill of the (bargain) hunt? Either way, it can be exciting to be in a store that offers affordable beauty finds. All of a sudden, you are surrounded by so many choices that fit the bill - or the budget, in this case - that shopping to complete an FOTD becomes a delightful matter of mixing and matching. A lot of you enjoyed our haul at the Dollar Store so this time around, we decided to go local and flexing our bargain-buying skills at homegrown store HBC!
A quick disclaimer before we begin: this haul consists purely of items from the San San line. I came in hoping to also pick up a few items from Allue, HBC’s makeup line geared towards tweens and teens, but was told by the SA that the makeup line has been discontinued.
Face Base
There was a lot of buzz about the Age Defense Serum Foundation (P238) in one of the local local groups that I follow so I made a beeline for that as soon as I entered the store. I was surprised to learn that this only comes in one shade! Luckily, the formula swatched kind of sheer so I felt like I could work with it.
For concealers, I checked out three types before settling on San San Concealer SPF15 (P120). It was a bit difficult to choose due to the inconsistency of the shades with each concealer line. They all had the same shade names per line but the Olive shade of one line would be much darker or a Beige shade would be waaaay more peach-toned. This cream concealer’s particular shade of Natural looked to be the closest to my skin tone, so I decided to go for that.
Unsure of the staying power of these products (and if they would match my skin tone), I asked for a powder foundation to set (or correct) the rest of my base. The SA recommended the San San Pressed Powder in 02 Satin (P118), which looked like my best shade match so far.
From left: Serum foundation, concealer, and pressed powder
Eyes
I was disappointed to learn that the famed San San shadow singles were out of stock! I guess they truly live up to the reputation of being bestsellers. Instead, the SA offered me a P200+ palette that included eyeshadows, blush, powder foundation, and lipstick but where’s the fun in that? I also wasn’t into shade selection included in the palette so I gave it a pass and settled for brow products. The Eyebrow Powder Duo in Light-Medium Brown (P152) looked promising, with brown shades that I felt could work as both brow powder and eyeshadow. I also grabbed a Shader Brush (P39) to use for eyeshadow application.
The SA who assisted me swore by the San San Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (P106). She leveled with me and said that while she doesn’t find it 100% waterproof, it was strongly water-resistant. To finish up the eye look, I also picked up the Long Lash Waterproof Mascara in Black (P147).
From left: eyebrow powder duo and eyeliner pen
Lips
I was already impressed that I’d gotten seven products (and nearly completed my FOTD) for P920 but here’s where HBC sweetened the deal. For the entire month of February, purchases of the San San Age Defense Serum Foundation or 2-in-1 Foundation Stick allow the customer to get any lipstick for 50% off! (Lip crayons and lip stains not included.) I took advantage of the promo to snatch up the Creamy Matte Lipstick in Tempting Ruby (sale price P75, regular price P151) because I wanted a bold lipstick to go with the simple eye makeup. The striking red shade swatched like it could work as a red blush as well.
From left: creamy matte lipstick and lip gloss (barely visible, sheer light pink)
Bonus: There’s another month-long promo that gives a free tube of lip gloss to the first 10 San San customers to present this voucher and make a P150 purchase, which I was also able to avail! And in case I didn’t end up getting a Serum Foundation, there is yet another February promo that slashes the price of their Creamy Matte Lipsticks by 50% if you trade in any brand of old lipstick. It’s definitely savings galore at HBC.
Final bill: P955! Talk about diversifying my makeup collection! I like having a high-low mix of luxe pieces to drugstore picks, and I was thrilled that this particular challenge put my creativity in building a full face haul to the test. Next up is the moment of truth: FOTD and review time!
Have you ever done a haul at HBC? What are your favorite products? And which of these haul finds are you most curious about?
